On December 26, 2004, a tsunami claimed the lives of over a quarter million people; suddenly ending all their hopes, dreams and all that life had to offer. This devastating tsunami reached a vast area along the edges of the Indian Ocean, with the ensuing sorrow covering the entire world. The sum of the tears shed in its aftermath already totaling more than the devastating waves themselves.

Our design proposal for the Tsunami Memorial seeks to understand the enormity of the Tragedy and will –

Offer a place to educate and inform visitors about tsunamis and thus save lives in the future;

Serve as a physical manifestation to memorialize all those lost at sea and as a place where all can come to properly say good-bye;

Seek to be a place to comfort all those who survived, to find a sense of peace and to help answer their question of why;

Stand as a tribute to all those who responded and came to aid in a moment of world crisis;

Be a living memorial that will grow and adapt; to reflect the ever exchanging condition of the world's heart;

From this memorial experience, one will take with them, the unified living spirit of all those lost that day. Knowing that all the kindness, goodwill and love of those whose lives ended on that day, have been rekindled by this memorial, while touching the hearts and uplifting the souls of all those around the world.

Future Leisure ~ Santa Monica, California

The competition called for unlimited boundaries of imagination for the Future. The non restricted program and budget gave new challenges for design strategy.

Studies of the geographic movement over thousands of centuries brought the initial concept of Isolation. Autonomy extends beyond the boundaries and Isolation occurs to reflect upon what was Los Angeles, The existing Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles reveals architectural movement towards the ocean, over time. The design goal was to follow this rhythm.

The urban context integrates and suppresses mobility and dilutes cultural boundaries. The Santa Monica pier stretches highway 10 which crosses U.S. grounds from coast to coast. The insertion extends this mobility and dilutes the physical boundaries to become virtual. This constant motion allows one to imagine a place where space is defined by movement. The future is characterized by infinite possibilities. Technology expands the realm of our present day reality. Space becomes infinite and time retracts itself back to our perception of Leisure. Leisure is defined by time, technology and change. The only element that is constant is change. Any element that is considered a wall, a floor, or a roof is now only a form that adapts to the changing environment. Any edge or form condensed in light is extracted from the horizon causing the light to alter reality of forms, void and planes.

Credits:

Design collaboration with

Ozzy Garcia, Entrepreneur, Designer

First Step Housing ~ New York, New York

An open Competition based in Manhattan, New York. The competition goal was to find a design that would best shelter a homeless individual in time of bringing their life back together. The program called for a series of 19 units per floor in an existing building called St. Andrews. The square footage was limited and the budget was challenging. Subsequently these two factors gave us the opportunity to direct the focus on what is needed, bringing forth the essentials of life. We were touched by the purpose of this competition and were compelled to design a space extracted from words commonly hoped for within the existing community of St. Andrews; such as security, privacy, flexibility and durability.

A foreshadow narrates describes the design through a story that we hope to hear from the end user.

Foreshadowing:

I only hoped to find shelter at the Saint Andrew's building, but I what I found there was something more than I ever hoped for.

The day I arrived at St. Andrews, I was asked to wait at the corner near the units. As I stood there different faces appeared in and out of the furniture. The subtle shift of the front panel from the corridor obscured the entrance and I was consumed with curiosity about the stories that dwell behind each corner.

The moment arrived when a person guided me to his space. He was a homeless person just like me but as I looked into his eyes I saw something I knew I didn't have.

He gave me his key, smiled and walked away.

When I pulled the obscured corner open, a sliver of light penetrated in the back. In front of it was a reflective panel that extended the space and unveiled my reflection. I was drawn to it and I felt comfort as I walked in. With the corner closed the depth of it made me feel secure. Privacy was apparent and the space became mine. I was free to shift the bed, table and chair. The structure separated itself from the walls and was supported by the furniture between each space. They were simple pieces put together.

It was a peculiar feeling to think of this space like me. Pieces put together. It was in my space that I thought of who I am and where I was going. It was in my space, that I cried when I became enlightened and understood that it was my time to move on.

I only hoped to find shelter at Saint Andrews . . .

what I found there was my Soul...

Credits:

Design collaboration with

Ozzy Garcia, Entrepreneur, Designer

Fragmented Playscape ~ Cleveland, Ohio

(In collaboration with Brandon Shigeta)

National Aid Memorial ~ San Francisco, California

(otonome)

The site have three portals, Main Portal, South Portal and West Portal. Each portal shoots out a path that weaves through the park and along each path are random smaller paths that leads to small circles of memorial spaces. The memorial circles have their own individual and unique presentation. On each end of the park there is dry creek of river rocks that terminates towards the center. The Memorial has the paths weaving and meeting in the center called Crossroad Circle; Here the concept is born- The paths will extend and weave through. When they weave into an embrace union, something powerful is created. For humans this reunion becomes the foundation of acceptance and understanding. Through "Continuum" hope, remembrance and healing becomes possible. Continuum is a proposed fragment within the National AIDS Memorial Grove intended to allow an embrace deep enough to touch one's soul.

Executed from the Crossroad Circle, Continuum will move outward and the path will be divided into two parts. On one side of the path is a platform that will hover just few feet or less feet above the ground. Along side below the lifted platform is a time line indicating the history of AIDS beginning with the first indication of AIDS GLOBALLY. The words will be impressed on a dark reflective hard surface, it will fold to retain the earth and stretch upward to become the conceptual canvas. The canvas will be assembled in rectangular reflective surface pulled and pushed in various depths creating a clear reflection on each member yet distorted as the whole. On each rectangular member's names and ages of those who passed and passing will be carved out. The placement of the names will be "random and scattered" leaving black portions for future names to fill. The fragment will not have a defined conclusion it will pause and will indicate a Continuum Memorial.

"Continuum: continuous seamless series: a link between two things, or a continuous series of things, that blend into each other so gradually and seamlessly that it is impossible to say where one becomes the next."

Credits:

Writing Collaboration with Elizabeth Wagstaff Williams

Exploration through competitions gives us the opportunity to create unlimited innovative design solutions. The experience becomes the catalyst of finding new methods and new perspectives in the approach towards designing our environment. Partaking in these competitions sharpens our ability to offer our clients diverse solutions from a global point of view. We will continue to participate in Local and International Competitions to live up to our obligations as Designers of an ever changing design world.